The Irony of Fortune
by WishingAwayReality
Summary: Fortune always felt like her name was a curse, and when her world comes crashing down on her in a single night, she sees no reason to think otherwise. That is until she meets a Spanish captain and finds out just how fortunate she can be. But how long will good fortunes last? (Rated M for safety).
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey all! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. I haven't written a fanfiction in awhile as I don't often have time. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update but I totally loved Capitan Salazar in the movie so I'm hoping to work on it as much as possible. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter One

It was the day of her sister's wedding. The gulls were calling, the sea was harmonizing, and the breeze felt refreshing. That was about all Fortune remembered of the event, outside of the screaming and the loud bangs of cannons from a ship. Then it all just went black.

She awoke to a sharp throbbing in the back of her head. Her cream colored dress covered her body in tatters and now carried red stains. The ground beneath her felt unstable, as if it rocked back and forth on a gentle current. Her surroundings, cast over by a dim light, and the sensations that ran through her body didn't connect. She could barely grasp at a thought, and when she did, she couldn't understand it.

It did occur to her, however that she was laying down with her back against something hard beneath her. She pushed herself up, her arms shaking as she did so. Her eyes squeezed shut as the blood seemed to rush away from her head. She took a moment to regain herself and the sharp throbbing returned.

Moving onto her knees, she eventually got herself onto her feet. The ground shifted beneath her. A hand went to her head as she stumbled back a few steps and then forward again.

A ship.

The realization hit her just as she lost her balance entirely and toppled onto the floor. She narrowly kept her head from hitting the floor but cringed as her body cried out in pain. Her ankle twisted in the mess and she decided to just lie there in hopes of figuring something out. She rested her head on her arm, feeling something sticky in her hair, but decided to ignore it for now. Her main concern shifted to filling in the gaps of what happened.

When she tried, she could see her sister, Charity, standing next to her betrothed. Charity's smile parted her lips and Fortune could see the true happiness in her sister's eyes. And then a ship appeared on the horizon. Everyone ignored it at first, believing it to be a British naval ship, but Fortune could remember a few murmurs amongst some of the men in regards to it not being a man-of-war or other naval type vessel in decoration. It wasn't until it was too late that the ceremonies broke.

Cannon fire from the unknown vessel brought an end to the joyous occasion, a curse on what was supposed to be one of the happiest moments in her sister's life. From there, Fortune could only remember the chaos. Bodies pushing against each other, men trying to escort their wives and daughters from the area, single men trying to help create some semblance of order. She pushed her way through the crowd like a salmon trying to swim upriver in an attempt to reconnect with her sister.

That was where the memory came to an abrupt end. A vague recollection of pain flooded her memory but she wasn't sure if that was mingling with her current reality or truly something that happened. Another remote feeling told her that other pieces fit together after the blackout, but she couldn't recall them no matter how long she stared at the damp floor in front of her.

But she was on a ship, and she knew it was a pirate attack, which could only lead her to believe she was in trouble. It took all she had to not try and sigh it away. She swore her birth name was more of a curse than a blessing. Her parents gave it to her, as she was an unexpected but very welcome child. However, he life had been anything but fortunate growing up. She seemed to be shrouded in bad luck and misfortune. Or maybe that was the joke. She was, after all, Miss Fortune Hunt.

Pushing aside all thoughts on her current predicament, she tried to shift her attention to the current state of her being. Besides in trouble, possible danger, and mixed with another bout of bad luck, she knew her body was in its own state of disarray. She pushed herself up to a sitting position again.

First, she took a hand to her head and cautiously prodded her fingers around her hair. Pain ripped through her head as her fingers met the damp wound. She cringed and let out a cry of intermingled surprise and pain. She swallowed hard and continued her search for head wounds, but found no more.

The rest of her body presented only scrapes and bruises, aside from her right leg, which sported a long and bleeding cut on the thigh, and her torso, which ached almost painfully. She couldn't decide if the ache would be worse had her head not been pounding. There was also the matter of the twisted ankle from her loss of balance and fall to the floor.

She froze at the sound of solid steps along the wooden floor. Her chest tightened and she found herself holding her breath. "Ah, so yer awake now," she heard a voice rasp out. She looked up to find green eyes staring back at her. A scar ran across the left one. "Take it ye've figured out where ye are by now," he added. She nodded slightly.

"A pirate ship," she said. Her voice was low and the lack of volume startled her. She never expected to be in this type of situation, but she did always dream of what she would do if she ever found herself in one. Those daydreams differed greatly from what she was finding reality to be, and it only made her that much more uncomfortable.

The man in front of her chuckled, his lips parting to reveal yellowed teeth in the flickering light of a swinging lamp. Shadows danced across his face from the fluctuating light and his facial hair, making him appear all the more sinister to Fortune. "Yer a bright girl," he responded.

"What do you intend to do with me?" she asked, focusing on adding volume to her voice.

"We'll do as we see fit, deary." A shiver ran up her spine. "And ye'll not fight us on it."

"And if I do?"

He chuckled again. "Ye'll not like the consequences." Her mind raced to all sorts of tales she'd heard from her parents and the sailors that her brother-in-law associated with. She looked to her lap, her hands tightened around the tattered cloth of her dress.

"Am I the only one you took?" she mustered. The edges of her eyes stung with the threat of tears. All she wanted was to go back to her sister's wedding and go home happy and exhausted from dancing and socializing.

"There were a few others," he stated. His words slowed down. A silence hung between them for a moment. The ship creaked as it continued to rock as if urging him to continue. Fortune swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for an answer to a question she barely had the courage to ask.

"A woman in a white dress and a man with an officer's uniform?"

"Ahh." The single sound mixed with a sinister chuckle. The man took a step closer, nearly leaning against the bars to Fortune's new cage. "They were here. I killed the man meself when he attacked me crew. The woman did herself in when she started screamin' about it." Fortune bit her lower lip, feeling a dampness form around her closed eyes. "If yer interested, the others didn't fair much better." A grin spread across his thin lips, pushing them apart yet again. "Yer the only one who didn't put up a fight."

She was alone, stuck in a pirate ship to meet a fate she could only imagine, and she assumed that was only if her injured body didn't give out first. The wound on her head begged to be tended to and the damp conditions in her cage weren't going to make things better. Medicine may not have been one of her lessons growing up, but she had heard enough from her brother-in-law to know a handful of things.

"Since yer being so good. I'll let ye rest for the night." They were the man's final words before she could hear the retreating of his footsteps. She waited until only the creak of wood and faint sound of waves could be heard before letting out her sob. Her arms wrapped around her chest and she curled in on herself, giving into the rush of emotions that swam through her body.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Several days passed in agony, though the exact amount escaped Fortune. Her health declined faster than she expected, so the number of rising and setting suns blurred in her mind until she could no longer even acknowledge the time of day. She only knew that her torso ached worse than when she first found out about her situation and the wound on her leg turned black with a deep red around it. A thin red line trailed downward, toward her foot. The whole area around the wound radiated heat.

Her head felt constantly clouded, though she didn't feel the same throbbing pain she had before. At first, she'd been almost thankful for her confusion and her inability to be able to process most things, because it blinded her to the lack of food and water and the things the men did to her. But with each time she woke up, she realized that things couldn't continue on as they had been. Something was going to give, and in her most conscious moments, she knew it was going to be her body.

She still did her best to remain as vigilant as possible, but it was a losing battle. That same battle seemed to create a manifestation in the world around her. The sun rose to the highest point in the sky. One of the men had dragged her to the upper deck, where she sat against the stairs with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried between them. There was some reason the man dragged her away from her damp cell, but she couldn't remember it even when she tried.

The passage of time blurred in her mind, as it seemed to always do in her current state. The sudden cries of the men around her didn't phase her until she heard the scurrying of feet. She lifted her head and watched as men passed her in a frenzy. From somewhere above, the call to prepare for battle came out. The words passed through her mind as if they were a part of the ambience of the sea.

The sight of another ship caught her attention and drew her to pull herself up, with heavy usage of anything around her that she could grip. She stumbled toward the railing, grabbing onto it just before her legs gave out, barely managing to keep herself upright. The ship that sailed toward them donned white sails; one of them housed what Fortune felt was the image of a bird. At the front, the carving of what she called a crusader stood out, but the recognitions fled from her mind as if useless.

It began to turn on the waves, exposing her port side. Noise carried along the ship as commands were belted out and men frantically moved about. The words "Silent Mary" stuck out to Fortune for a brief moment before she sank down to her knees and closed her eyes. She welcomed the ship. It would bring about an end to the ghastly days she endured on whatever her current ship was called. She shifted so her back was against the railing and listened as the thunderous cries of cannons soon overtook the otherwise calm air.

How she came to end up in the water, she didn't know. Whether the ship had broken just right that she slid off the deck and plunged into it or whether something had launched from the deck, she couldn't say and didn't truly care. The icy water that engulfed her body brought her to her senses, the very senses she had been lacking since about the second or third night upon the cursed pirate vessel.

Her lungs burned as she inhaled water. The depth at which she'd sunk wasn't too great as she surfaced not long after, gasping for air and coughing up whatever water her lungs could muster. She grabbed onto a floating piece of wood, her body still too exhausted to hold out for very long in the water. A body floated near her, a startled expression on the face and blood leaking out of large portion of his side where his body had been ripped through. She attempted to push it away but found the movement tipped the wood which she clung to. Her current situation depended on the unreliable thing so she allowed herself a brief moment to flail in the water. The wood corrected itself and she grabbed hold of it again.

The cannons of the enemy ship let out a few last roars before most of the pirate ship floated in broken pieces along the surface of the water, while any largely intact ones fell toward the bottom. Men floundered in the water around her, crying out for help to the very men that had just put them in harm's way. She couldn't help her small giggle. "To hell with us all," she muttered. It occurred to her, in that brief moment, that she may have a second chance and should be crying out like the very cowards who held her captive.

But her leg stung and radiated sharp bursts of pain up her side and down to the sole of her foot. The new lightness her body felt was only from the waves and once she was out of it, she knew the same heaviness and stiffness she'd had in her limbs would return tenfold. Whatever ailed her leg would now have the help of the salty water and her mind would cloud over when not confronted with bone chilling water.

A second chance, she wagered, would be a fleeting moment of hope.

"A woman! Capitan, there's a woman in the water!" the cry came from above, on the victorious ship. Fortune closed her eyes and rested her chin on the floating board. She ignored the water as it threatened to slip between her lips. The remnants of the first night flooded through her mind; her torn dress, the bloodstains, her matted hair. She could easily be mistaken for one of the pirates.

The man's observation was met with a cry to fire and she heard the guns go off. The pirates cried out in agony and fear as they tried to scatter in an attempt to save their own lives. Many of them didn't get far, but some still managed to survive. No new pain ripped through Fortune and she could still feel herself bobbing up and down, hear the groans of dying men around her. It prompted her to open her eyes.

An occasional shot from a gun went off.

A small boat, filled with men in uniforms, made its way through the debris and toward her. The men would take a moment to fire at any pirate they saw still moving before getting close enough to her. She looked up as a man held out his hand. Her eyes ran over it for a moment before she reached up. The wood shifted and she sank down into the water, but a firm grip wrapped around her fingers and she was pulled from the water's clutches. Some of the men shifted, allowing room for her to sit.

She caught sight of a few crewmembers from the pirate ship swimming away before she fell sideways. The man next to her barely managed to hold her up and exchange a glance to the one giving orders as they returned to the Silent Mary. They helped her aboard, the stern captain watching from the wheel. His quartermaster began calling out orders. A few of the men helped her below decks.

The next few moments came in and out to Fortune. One moment someone was asking for her name, the next someone asked if she was a pirate, the next was someone asking if she would make it, and then her vision filled with darkness. The bustle around the room nearly faded away as well once a proud looking man in a black and white uniform stepped in. Any extra men made their way out and toward the upper deck. He looked down at the woman on the bed and then to the surgeon now in charge of her care.

"She's in rough shape, sir," he stated. The surgeon looked to the blackened wound on Fortune's leg. Even the least medically inclined could see it was serious, and the dark red circle around it only made the surgeon fear more for the woman.

"You'll tell me when she's awake," the man in the black and white uniform said. The surgeon looked up at him and nodded.

"Of course, captain," the man responded. The captain lingered in the doorway. His eyes ran over the woman on the bed, her dress tattered but enough to still keep her mostly decent. He tossed around the idea of her being a pirate several times in his mind before coming to the conclusion that she wasn't. Something about her seemed just too fragile to be linked into that sort of life.

But the question of what she was doing on the ship remained all the same. He toyed with those thoughts as he turned from the doorway and headed back up to the wheel. Sooner or later, he would find out, and he could certainly be a patient man if he tried. For the time being, he could easily distract himself by hunting more pirates.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I made it a point to get this chapter done ASAP so I could put out more Salazar. Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited this! I hope you enjoy my portrayal of Capitán Salazar!

Chapter Three

A cry of pain sounded through the night. Fortune's leg burned from the inside, sending sharp stabs of pain up her side. Her head tipped back, the sore spot pressing against the cot as her torso pushed upward. One man stood at her feet, pushing her ankles into the firm bedding, another leaning over her body so as to keep her wrists pressed down. The surgeon himself sat by her legs, taking a sharp knife and scraping at the deadened, black skin along her cut.

Tears dripped down from the corners of Fortune's eyes. Even if she wanted to hold them back, her body forced them to come in reaction to the pain. Just moments before, she'd been asleep. She'd been granted no warning prior to the torturous pain that came from what the surgeon deemed necessary.

A fourth man stood on the opposite side of the room. The surgeon had already warned him about the commotion that would follow his decision and, naturally, got the man's permission. They had allowed Fortune to sleep through the day and half of the night before the surgeon realized how dangerous her condition was. If she was to have any hope at surviving, he needed to act quickly.

Fortune let out a few sobs once the scraping stopped. The surgeon dismissed the two men holding her down and went about wrapping the wound. "She'll be awake now, for awhile at least, Capitán," he stated. The man, still donning black and white, moved forward some.

"What is your name?" the captain asked. He didn't see the need for pleasantries and asking how she felt. Anyone who could see her in her current state—tear stained eyes, pale skin, and a bandaged leg—would know the answer to that question. Cutting to the chase often had its benefits too; people in civilized society didn't often expect it. Pleasantries and small talk were all too common in the social game.

A brief silence followed before Fortune realized she was being spoken to. Her mouth opened first, but nothing came for a moment. "F-Fortune," she stuttered, her throat dry and her voice hoarse. It seemed almost strange to her that being so close to water made someone's body so dry. The captain smirked slightly, the irony unable to escape him.

"What were you doing aboard a pirate ship?" He practically spat the word 'pirate'. Under normal circumstances, Fortune wouldn't have missed the disdain he expressed, but the adrenaline of her recent ordeal wasn't enough to clear her foggy mind.

"Against my will…" she answered, leading to a brief coughing fit. "I was… kidnapped?" She could barely recall if that was the word she was looking for. Something about it didn't seem to quite fit her situation. Then it dawned on her; these men were taking care of her wounds, they were giving her safe housing on their ship, and cared enough to get her story. "Where am I?" she asked.

"The Silent Mary," he answered. "I am Armando Salazar, Capitán of this vessel."

"You saved my life… thank you…" Fortune replied.

"Not yet," the surgeon interjected. He pushed himself up from his knees and moved away from the bed some, wiping his hands on a cloth. "Your wounds aren't minor, señora." He paused. Turning to face her again, his eyes met hers. "It's honestly a surprise you lasted with these wounds at all."

Fortune didn't quite know how to respond to the sentiment. She didn't expect to survive the pirate ship. Then again, she didn't really bother with much after finding out her sister and brother-in-law were murdered. "I appreciate it nonetheless," she answered after a moment's thought.

Captain Salazar paused a brief moment, about to make a remark about "English manners", but stopped himself. He wasn't sure how the woman would take a remark like that, even as light hearted as he may have felt it. After all, he was a captain and not a diplomat. Even though they were quite different—and better in his opinion—than pirates, he still had that same distance from proper manners that all sailors held. It was, in his opinion, the only thing that held him back on land; another reason he preferred the sea.

"We make port in three days," he said instead. "We'll help you secure a ship back to your home."

"What?" Fortune blurted before she could stop herself. She went to sit up but cringed at the sharp pain that shot through her head. Armando straightened some at her response. Her gaze met his, a stare that lacked the empathy she would expect from a man, especially a military man. All the men in uniform from her town changed their demeanor noticeably when around women.

"With all do respect, sir, I'm not sure she'll be well enough to transfer ships at that time," the surgeon stated. Fortune glanced to the man, an older gentleman than the Captain, with his dark hair beginning to gray and the wrinkles around his eyes becoming permanent. Even Fortune could tell he was older than most sailors, and wondered how much longer he would be on the ship.

"We'll find someone to escort her after she's well, but she'll stay in port," Armando answered. Fortune frowned. The more she thought about everything that happened, the more she wanted to remain on the ship. She knew the Navies of many countries were against the pirates. It was her one way to get closure for what they did to her and her family.

Besides, her sister and brother-in-law were the only ones she had left. Now that they had been killed, she was on her own. Her parents remained in England after she traveled the seas with her sister to the Caribbean, but they had lost touch after a few years. If she got a ship back to England, she would know the land but nothing else. Either outcome, she was to be a stranger in familiar territory, which struck her as the loneliest feeling she could have.

"What if I make a deal with you?" Fortune asked. Salazar's right brow tipped upward, intrigued for a moment by the offer. However, a woman on the ship, especially an injured one, would merely get in the way. He couldn't afford distractions if he wanted to cleanse the seas of pirates.

"No," he answered. She paused. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't been expecting to be shut down without making her offer. Her eyes twitched narrower before she relaxed into the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She made note of the distant throb in her leg, deciding she would wait for approval to test it before shifting too much.

Salazar frowned. He expected an argument out of her rather than absolute compliance. His attention shifted to the surgeon. "Keep me updated on," he stated. Something didn't sit right with him about this woman; she didn't seem quite the same as other women. Perhaps she was lying about the pirate part, or perhaps not. Either way, he wanted to keep a close eye on her for the next few days.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I went to visit family over the Fourth of July and then came back and not even a week later had to have a last minute wisdom tooth extraction. . I'm hoping it doesn't take me so long to update next time.

Chapter Four

Fortune had never been a troublemaker. She always listened to her parents, abided by the law, and helped out with the chores when she lived with her sister. The way she lived and acted was a far cry from perfect, or even the ideal woman, but she stayed out of trouble nonetheless.

However, the distant sound of the bilge rats pumping the water from the ship on the other side of her wall and the cool air that filtered through the area pushed her to the limits. She'd spent too much time on that blasted pirate ship being locked away or otherwise ordered around in less than pleasant ways. Now, laying in bed and staring at the dark ceiling in the middle of the night, she felt a restless need to try out her leg.

Sweat coated her skin and she swore that it felt colder than it should have, all signs pointing to a fever. She pushed the thoughts of her health away. A fever meant her body was fighting off something, and she didn't want to think about the consequences of it failing her.

Instead, she moved her legs over the edge of the bed. The cool air rushed over her skin. Her leg sent warnings of protest to her brain, causing her to cringe at the pain that it registered. She clutched the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. A war waged in her head; to risk the worst and go above deck or try to remain safe and stay below deck. She decided on the former.

First, she put her good food to the cool floor and began to stand. She put weight slowly on her bad leg, trying hard not to give into the pain. It took several slow, steady steps toward the door before she rested against the doorframe. At that moment, it occurred to her that there was water up to her ankles, most likely the reason the bilge rats were being pushed so hard to work.

The only comparison she had for this ship was the pirate ship she had been on. If either ship was similar, it would be a long passage between the room she was in and her escape past the bilge rats, and there would be an officer nearby that would likely spot her, if not be entirely in her way. She let out an annoyed huff and rocked against the doorway some, her mind running through as many options as she could think.

"I don't think the surgeon would be happy to see you right now," a voice came from somewhere around the corner. The surprise caused Fortune to jump, landing on her injured leg with full weight. She yelped as her leg gave out. The splash and feel of the hard wood never came. Instead, she felt a hand on her arm and an arm around her waist. "There's a reason the injured stay in bed, señora."

Fortune found herself staring up at the Spanish captain of the vessel. Her own eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open in surprise, and yet the man holding her stared down at her with as little emotion as she figured possible in this situation. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks as she stared into his dark eyes. Her mind failed to grasp at any words to correct her embarrassment in the given situation.

He simply righted her and motioned to the bed with a single wave of his hand. "Now, return to bed," he ordered. She paused for a moment before hobbling her way back over to the bed and taking a seat on the edge. He watched her from the doorway, though his gaze stayed on her injured leg for a moment. "You're lucky we didn't have to remove that. Are you going to risk that now? For what?"

"I've been locked in a cell on a pirate ship for longer than I know, only being released for unpleasantries from my captors. I'm no longer content being locked up," she answered, trying to keep from flashing her annoyance. She wasn't accustomed to ships, and the concept of being in such a small space for so long. Not to mention, the near death experience she had and the injury to her leg. The most she had were illnesses that took weeks to cure, but nothing that truly ever threatened her life.

"So you would risk losing your leg for a fleeting moment of freedom?" he asked. She paused; it hadn't sounded that way in her head. Her gaze shifted to her leg, bandaged well enough that she couldn't see the current condition of her leg.

"I'm smarter than you give me credit for. If you hadn't startled me, I wouldn't have been at risk." She looked back to him. He chuckled some.

"Women don't belong on ships, señora. An injured man would know to stay in bed," he responded.

"Have you gender checked every man on your ship? I've heard plenty of stories of women sneaking aboard in desperate times."

"Nonsense."

"It's true. My…" She paused and took a deep breath. "My brother-in-law once found out that a man he worked closely on a ship with was indeed a woman. I have nothing left myself, no way to earn a living and no family to take care of me. I could make a ship my home." Salazar scoffed before chuckling some. He was a wise enough man to put two and two together, knowing that the deal she wanted to make earlier was her way of asking to stay aboard the ship. It didn't matter to him what her reasons were; a woman had no place aboard a ship.

Even if the work was easier and didn't require the strength of a man, the conditions were harsh and cramped, and there were the dangers of battle. He would not be the one to let a woman get harmed from a wrong move when he challenged the pirates. "You will not stay aboard my ship." She opened her mouth to speak again but he beat her to it. "Defying my command is not a way to convince me, either."

She frowned, finally shifting her legs onto the bed and resting back against the pillow. "Three days until port?" she asked.

"Sí."

"Then I have three days to convince you," she responded. Salazar couldn't hold back his smirk at the challenge. He already knew she was going to lose, but he saw no harm in humoring her. She would be bed ridden all of those days anyway, if the surgeon was correct.

"Do as you wish," he responded. "But you will not win."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning proved quiet; the water level within the ship lowered so as not to be problematic and the hustle and bustle seemed to be above decks more so than anywhere else. The only sound came from the soft sound of cloth rubbing against cloth as the surgeon peeled away the bandage from around Fortune's leg. She cringed each time it pulled or push against the wound itself. "You're lucky you have no fever anymore," the surgeon stated, never moving his eyes from his work. "Means the infection is breaking quickly."

Fortune waited for the comment about her trying to walk around the previous night. She doubted the captain would go without telling him. Her gaze remained on the wooden ceiling above them. Despite the other man's reassuring words, she doubted the wound was going to be in such good condition. It was larger than when she was on the pirate ship, mainly due to the dead skin around it that had to be scraped away.

A sting signaled the presence of air against the area. She closed her eyes, lightly squeezing them to keep from looking at her leg. A whimper slipped through her lips as the cool touch of the man's hands felt around the skin, growing ever nearer to the wound. Each step closer from his fingers elicited an almost electric shock, growing stronger and more painful as it moved. "Your skin is warm," he stated.

"Is it healing?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Fear betrayed the steadiness of her words. The man chuckled.

"It's going to be slow," he answered. "You'll be lucky to be able to walk in a week."

"I…" she started. Her lips pursed together as she realized what she was about to confess.

"You walked. El capitán told me," he responded. Fortune let out a huff and opened her eyes finally. She went to look at her leg but her gaze caught the surgeon's instead. He looked amused, to her surprise. "He could use a woman like you."

"What?" she blurted. The man chuckled again and rose from his knees to his feet. He moved across the room, to where a makeshift table of crates sat, and took a seat on one. She stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"El capitán is old for a sailor, it's time he find a woman to settle down with."

Fortune's brows pushed together. The awkward feeling welling up within her stomach and her surprise bubbled over into a fluttery giggle before she looked away. Her sister urged her to find a suitor, and then to stop pushing away the men that chased her, but Fortune never thought of marriage. She had dreams and aspirations, once that her brother-in-law reminded her were not very proper for a lady.

Staying at home and having children and dying old just never settled with her. She wanted to do things, help the poor and heal the sick, or see a battle or just do something. Being twenty-two, she didn't see herself having to rush in and get married. After all, her parents were in their mid-sixties and still living. "That's no guarantee," her sister would tell her. "Many people die younger; mother and father are just lucky."

"Your captain doesn't seem like the type to settle down and get married," she finally stated. The surgeon shrugged, pushing the corners of his lips down into a forced frown, before glancing to the door.

"Perhaps," he answered. Fortune studied the man sitting on the crate for a moment. She had this nagging feeling that he had some sort of scheme running through his mind, but it only got her thinking herself. She had three days in order to convince the captain that she belonged on the ship. Three days to make him warm up to her, and she didn't know how much of that original estimate included the day before and last night.

She looked to her leg, cringing at the sight of the maggots the man placed on the wound. Seeing them wriggle around made her feel somewhat sick to her stomach, so she looked away again. "I'll make you a deal," she stated, swallowing hard in hopes of calming her stomach down as she spoke. The man arched a brow and looked to her.

"Sí?" he asked. At least he was a bit more reasonable than the captain.

"If you help me walk around and see the captain, I'll do what I can to convince him to settle down and live the remainder of his life on land," she answered. He studied her in silence a moment before laughing some.

"You are going to get me in trouble, but I supposed we could all use some excitement… excitement that doesn't involve pirates," he responded. He stood up from the crate he sat on, grabbed a roll of bandages, and moved back over to the bed Fortune rested on.

"My father used to say that if you weren't getting in trouble, you weren't living correctly," Fortune responded. "My mother used to scold him for saying it." The surgeon grinned before working on bandaging the wound.

"Looks like you're living quite the life then."

Fortune tried hard not to frown at his response. By her father's standards, she supposed it was true. But when she remembered how she got the wound, she remembered what became of the family she lived with in the Caribbean. She let out a soft sigh and stared at the door; if Captain Salazar would have bothered to let her speak, she was almost certain he would have sympathy for her situation and return her sentiments for revenge against pirate kind.

Maybe she would get her chance to plead her case soon enough.

The surgeon stood up and held out his hand to Fortune once he was finished tending her wound. She took his hand, feeling the calluses that formed along his fingers, and rose to her feet. Before she could even think to set weight down on her bad leg, the man moved around to that side and had her leaning against him. In silence, he helped her out of the room and to the base of the stairs.

She stared up at the light that poured down, casting shadows from the stairs to the wood they stood on. It felt like it had been forever since she was actually allowed to be in the sun, other than during the destruction of the pirate vessel she was captive on. "This will be tricky," the surgeon muttered. "I may have to carry you…"

"No," Fortune responded. She leaned into him and put her good foot on the lowest stair. "We'll get there without you carrying me." The surgeon sighed audibly before going along with the plan, very narrowly avoiding falling off the open side of the stairs and to the wood below. Fortune could feel all eyes turning toward her and suddenly questioned her decision.

It was, after all, a naval vessel and she really had no place on it. She began to feel foolish, even as the surgeon helped her toward the railing of the ship so she could lean on that and stare out at the water. There were a few murmurs from some of the men as they passed by, but they were all in Spanish and she didn't understand them. Maybe it would be best to drop her lust for revenge and give in to defeat. There were plenty of capable men on the seas like Salazar and his crew to extract revenge for her.

"What is this?" a sharp voice questioned, drawing Fortune from her thoughts.

"I felt the air would do her well, capitán. She seems a little depressed and that's never good for healing," the surgeon responded. Fortune turned around to face the captain, his eyes narrowed in disapproval.

"It's my fault," she spoke up. "I convinced him that I needed the air. I've been trapped on a pirate ship for days and now I'm trapped down below on your ship. Seeing the sun and the sea is nice."

Salazar steadied himself with a deep breath. It didn't matter to him if they were going to port and not looking for pirates at the time, he didn't like the way this woman was challenging everything that he'd worked so hard on. He and his crew did things a certain way, acted in a certain way, had a certain mentality, and here she was getting the surgeon to go against his own words—that she needed rest and to stay off the leg—without even notifying him first.

"Señora…" he started.

"Call me Fortune," she interrupted. He frowned.

" _Señora_ , you can do whatever you need on the next ship you're on, but on this ship, you do what you're told."

Fortune smiled at him. "Why don't you tell me the rules are and I'll do my best to follow them." Salazar's eyes narrowed slightly more and Fortune was almost sure he was going to throw her overboard and leave her this time. Instead, he turned around and motioned for her to follow him. She glanced to the surgeon, who took his place at her side to help her along as they headed toward the captain's quarters.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The three made their way into the Captain's cabin. The most prominent piece of furniture was a large table with a map spread out on top of it. Sitting atop that very map were small ships, some of them were red, others blue, and others black. They reminded Fortune of little toy ships that little boys might play with. She knew better than that, however, being on a Naval ship of any country meant strategy and planning.

Salazar took his seat behind his desk and looked up at the two. The surgeon helped Fortune to take a seat across from the desk and stopped at her side. "You can leave," Salazar told the other man. The surgeon paused for a moment. It wasn't the way of anyone on the ship to disobey the captain, but the surgeon had to put the concern of his patient forefront in his mind as well.

"Sir, I caution you that stress will slow the healing," the surgeon stated. Salazar stared back at him without a word, but his look said it all. There was a twinkle of humor in his eyes, and yet something else that sent a shiver down Fortune's spine. She glanced up to the man standing at her side. Without another word, the surgeon turned and left the room, leaving Fortune to face the older man on her own.

She held her legs as close together as her wound would allow and clasped her hands together in her lap. Suddenly, it seemed hard to look the man in the face. The tension in the room came to her attention. She tried to tell herself to stick with her plan; she needed to. Her sister and brother-in-law's deaths could not go without justice, and she refused to let another person deal that justice out for her family.

Salazar turned his attention to the woman sitting in front of him. He opened his mouth to tell her that she wasn't going to win, he wasn't going to concede, but there was a moment's hesitation. It lasted just long enough for him to begin reassessing the situation. Despite the fire he saw in her green eyes, she looked almost fragile. Her skin seemed paler than it ought to be for a woman her age, perhaps it was from the infection. It contrasted greatly against her dark auburn hair, which rested mattered and dirty on her head.

He remembered seeing her lying on that bed, with the tears in her eyes. It occurred to him that most women, even men, would be broken after the injuries she sustained, not to mention being kidnapped by pirates. There were pieces to the story he didn't know, however, and even was wise enough to realize that. "Why don't you wish you return to your family?" he asked. Fortune paused, eyes widening some before looking away. She hadn't expected such a question from him.

"I lived with my sister and my brother-in-law." She paused. "They're dead."

"And your parents?"

"Do not yet know, most likely. I would rather get justice for my sister and her husband before returning to them," she answered.

"So it was the pirates that killed them?"

"Yes."

Fortune looked back to Salazar. A new look filled his eyes, one of slight gentleness, but mostly an understanding. Suddenly, their goals and their reasons weren't so different; she for the vengeance of her family and he for the protection of others, and the crown.

"Women don't serve aboard ships," he stated, without the same stubborn edge to his words.

"Give me a small task; make me aide to the surgeon," she responded.

"No, no. There's nowhere for you to sleep, to change, to get clean," he answered. "There is no way to separate a woman from my crew aboard this ship."

"Then…" Her chest tightened. "I don't have to." She almost couldn't believe she allowed herself to say such a thing. If it ever became known that she shared quarters with men, allowed them to see her exposed in any manner, and had lived among them on a ship, she would lose any prospect of ever getting married, which in turn, would keep her from having much of a future. Her only hope would be to use the surgeon's game against the captain. "My sister and her husband were murdered on their wedding day; that deserves justice, even if it means throwing away my honor."

"The pirates who kidnapped you and killed them are dead," he responded.

"If it's not you, captain, then it will be the next ship I board. And the next after that, if I must, until I find a captain willing to keep me aboard. I know you can understand why I have to do this. Please."

Salazar sighed some and glanced to the door and then back. "If you can show me that you can live with my crew, and follow orders, then we'll discuss the matter at port," he responded. "For now, you aide the surgeon and you do as you're told."

Fortune couldn't help the grin that crept across her face. "Thank you, captain."

"Don't thank me yet… Fortune."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Fortune took her time standing up from the chair; she knew she should ask the captain for help, but she refused to do any such thing. If he was now to trust her in aiding the surgeon, she felt she needed to show she could be strong, even when injured. Salazar watched her for just a moment before standing up and moving over to her. He offered his arm, never saying a word and not even looking at her. She stared at him a moment, asking herself why she felt surprised, before taking his arm.

The two walked without a single word being exchanged. Fortune could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she allowed him to lead her toward the stairs that led below decks. As much as she tried to focus on the bustle of men around them and the sounds of the sea, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. No man had ever linked arms with her before and led her anywhere. She leaned against him some as she limped along beside him, not daring to look in his direction in the slightest.

They both paused at the top of the stairs. Salazar found himself contemplating picking her up and carrying her down; unsure of whether she could actually make the descent. He reminded himself, however, that she wanted to prove herself. No man of his crew would ever be carried down the stairs by him, and so she wasn't going to get that treatment either.

Fortune wondered the same thing as she stared down into the lower decks. Making her way up had been hard enough, but there was something just different enough about ascending stairs, something that made it easier despite taxing the muscles more. Maybe it was the perception of the descent, or maybe it was just knowing that a fall forward was into air rather than the stairs, but it made her heartbeat just a little quicker. She took a determined breath and started with her good leg.

Salazar matched her pace, each of them steadying themselves along the way.

All seemed to be going smooth as they reached the halfway mark, and then Fortune felt it. A pain shot through her leg like a claw ripping through her skin. The muscle spasmed and her knee gave out. Before she could catch herself, she fell into the air, watching as the stairs and the ground grew closer.

Salazar felt her arm fall from his and he moved down two steps, attempting to catch her while staying steady himself. He underestimated the weight and speed of her fall and found himself toppling over backwards as her hands struck his chest with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. Just as he recovered from that blow, the wooden floor greeted his back with the same effect, while sending a pain through his head as it made contact as well.

Fortune let out a shriek of pain as the wound on her leg made contact with his knee. And then silence fell between them. Salazar stared up at the wooden ceiling above him, taking a few moments to make sure he had constant breath flowing in and out of his lungs. Thoughts rushed back into Fortune's mind before she realized she was laying on Salazar's chest, on the floor, below decks, after tumbling down the stairs. "I am so sorry," she blurted out.

She pushed off from his chest and rolled to the floor next to him. As her back rested against the hard flooring beneath her, she found herself lying there and staring up at the ceiling as well. She could easily try to stand on her own, but her leg screamed with a fury she hadn't felt since the surgeon first took to mending it. It was a cry that warned her not to push the muscle and the leg itself, lest she end with the same fate she just faced.

Salazar didn't make a move either. He was half annoyed with himself for allowing this to happen. It was not in his normal behavior to stumble or fall at all, definitely not down the stairs. His mind screamed at him to get up, because he couldn't let his crew see him like this, and surely someone had heard the commotion and her scream, yet he didn't feel like moving quite yet. Perhaps it was that it fell so far from his character that it was a nice relief, a nice break from everything that went on his world and in his mind.

But before he let those thoughts solidify, he pushed himself up and to his feet. He stared down at the woman who had fallen on top of him moments before. "Are you alright?" he asked. Fortune's eyes fluttered as if confused by his question.

"Um… yes," she answered. It sounded forced to Salazar. She went to sit up.

"No, no," he chided. "Don't push your leg."

"Would you tell that to one of your men?" she asked, completely disobeying his words and sitting up. She stopped, with her hands in her lap and her legs awkwardly in front of her.

"My men don't fall down stairs," he responded. She rolled her eyes and went to push herself to her feet, trying to swallow back the pain. A hand moved in front of her and she paused, staring at it before her gaze trailed up Salazar's arm. She took his hand, and his help to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her waist this time and guided her rather naturally toward the surgeon's room again.

"Do you really know your men so well, Captain Salazar, or do you know what they try to be for you?" she asked. He passed her a questioning glance.

"I know their strengths and I know their weaknesses," he started.

"That's not knowing them," she interrupted. "That's being a leader, that's knowing how to use them. How many of your men are married or betrothed or have children? What do they do when you make port and they have spare time?" she asked. They entered the room she had been staying in. He helped her toward the bed. "And what do they know of you?" she asked before he could reply. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and stared up at the man. He was proud, without a doubt, and confident. She was beginning to see the wall he put up, the marriage to his duties that so many captains got, and yet he seemed to take it a bit further.

"What does that have to do with running a ship, or hunting pirates?" There was an edge to his words.

"I suppose very little," she answered. "Or very much. How far are you willing to help your men, the same as you helped me? That same sort of generosity can go a long way in whether a man saves your life or doesn't. And before you go getting mad at me as your glare suggests, think about it."

"You know nothing of me and my men."

Fortune opened her mouth to continue but paused. She remembered her sister chastising her for being too outspoken and pushing suitors away. It wasn't a lady's place, or so everyone told her. But then again, she wasn't trying to fit into a lady's role anymore.

"I see a man who cares but is afraid to act on it," she stated. "I bet your men see the same thing and they may help you out, but are you too proud to take it if you need it?" As if on cue, a small trickle of blood slid down his neck. Fortune frowned, realizing that he was the one to hit the floor, the one to take the brunt of the impact. He felt it on his neck, sticking his hand to the warm liquid and studying his fingers as he pulled them away. "Let me look at that," she ordered.

"It's nothing," he muttered. She knew he was right.

"I'm not letting you return to the decks with blood running down your neck."

He scoffed, both of them knowing she could truly do nothing to stop him.

"Grab one of those clothes over there and sit down," she replied. He pursed his lips as his eyes narrowed, growing further annoyed by this whole situation. Finally, he turned and grabbed a cloth before taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to her. She shifted, pushing herself further onto the bed with a cringe. Skillfully, she pulled the hair tie from his hair and followed the small trail of blood to the source. It was a small cut, nothing too serious as they'd both suspected. Still, she dabbed at it with the cloth.

"It's going to be sore for a day or two, but that's all," she stated.

"I told you it was nothing," he insisted.

"Stop being such a man," she muttered. Her sister would always tell her stories about how stubborn her fiancé was, especially in regards to injuries or listening to anything her sister had to say. Her mother often would complain about the same things when it came to their father.

"Perhaps if you acted more like a lady…" he retorted. She leaned forward slightly, her brows pushing together.

"That doesn't even make sense. What does my acting like a lady have to do with you being a stubborn man?"

He turned his head to look at her. "None of this would have happened if you were a lady," he retorted. She tried not to laugh at the childishness of his statement, especially coming from the man who always seemed to tower over her with intimidation and power.

"Perhaps it happened because you're too stubborn," she retorted. His dark eyes narrowed again. She waited for him to respond but no such thing came. Instead, she found herself admiring the way his hair fell around his face. "You look better with your hair down," she stated. There was a softness in her tone, a gentleness that startled even herself. Salazar suddenly realized how close they were, the fact that he could feel her breath on his face and that their bodies were almost touching.

A strange feeling welled up in his chest, and he realized the mistake in his words. She was a lady, a real lady, the type to say what was on her mind and not back down from silly social grace. Granted, she would be the type to always get into trouble, but she would also be the type who could stand at a man's side and only add to position, in the way that stars compliment the moon but are also beautiful on their own. She was the type of woman that could stand at his side.

He stood up at that thought and cleared his head. Without another word, he headed out of the room. There were things that needed tending to, things to take his mind off of the thoughts he could no control.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys! I had a rough week last week and just couldn't get my head in the right place. :( I 3 you all though and I have no intent on giving up on this. I love writing it and have been watching the movie nonstop since it came out. :D Thank you all for your patience and sticking with me. :)

Armando Salazar made his way above deck, brushing some of his loose hair out of his face. _You look better with your hair down._ He couldn't focus on anything but those words and silently cursed the woman for saying them. As the captain of the ship, he had to keep himself from getting distracted, from losing his thoughts to the woman who was too outspoken for her own good.

The warmth of the sun as he emerged from the stairs felt only slightly relieving, mingled with the salty breeze that only barely seemed to be blowing today. He caught the confused glance of one of his crewmembers, who seemed to be lingering on asking a question or running away in terror. And then Salazar remembered his hair was no longer up and he probably looked ready to kill someone.

He picked up his pace and headed back into his quarters. He was going to have to talk to the surgeon about things later, but Salazar planned to make that much later. For now, he had to get Fortune out of his mind. Tipping his head from side-to-side, he crossed the room and stopped in front of the mirror. It had already been replaced twice, but such was the nature of the ship. He could argue that it wasn't necessary to have, but he had certain standards, and without the mirror, he couldn't ensure that he lived up to them.

His reflection stared back at him, revealing exactly how annoyed he looked at the current situation. Not all of his dark hair had come undone from the ponytail, but it was enough to frame his face. Was it really that much of a difference?

He let out a sigh; that wasn't the way he wanted his thoughts to travel, because the more he focused on his hair, the more he thought about her, and how despite being on a pirate ship and now his ship, there was still the faint scent of rose petals on her, the way her surprised green eyes stared into his with an odd sort of sparkle in them, and the way she dared to stand up to him in a way that few outside of his family ever had.

The sooner he put his hair up, the sooner he could forget about the whole thing, and the sooner he could focus his thoughts on what really mattered.

Once he tied his hair back, he moved over to the map, where little figures of ships sat scattered in different areas, and studied it. He already moved the little figure that represented his ship to the port they were planning to dock in. They would pick up fresh food and supplies, make any necessary repairs on the ship, and then head back out to sea. Really, the whole stay had been planned out; it was routine, set to be as short as possible, but there was nothing else to do until they docked.

He had people to pay off to find out more information on which pirates were where. It wasn't a business he exactly liked; some of the men he used seemed to be no more than pirates themselves, but it would be worth it in the end. And a quick tip off to the authorities and they were purged easily. All he had to do was play the game with some strategy and they would have the seas pure, and then work on what they needed to on the land.

He turned away from the map and sat in the chair at his desk. They could make an extra stop at a real doctor, for Fortune. But he trusted the surgeon. The man had been on Naval vessels for years. He may have started as something else, but he learned the medical realm quickly and had always taken care of the men.

Salazar supposed they could play it by ear and see how she was feeling once they docked. Then again, another tumble down the stairs and she wasn't going to heal very quickly at all. And then they were going to have to deal with the fact that he actually agreed to letting her stay on the ship. She wasn't trained, she probably didn't know the areas of the ship or what port and starboard were, and there was no true privacy on the ship. It wasn't somewhere for a woman to be.

Something told him she could hold her own, however, and that thought unnerved him. He was a proud Spaniard in the Navy, not some merchant with no discipline. Keeping a woman onboard was bad luck, if he was a superstitious man, and dangerous. In a battle, she was an extra body to worry about, and one who had no skills with a sword or a gun. He closed his eyes; that was going to have to change if she managed to hold her worth with the surgeon.

He paused. Was he really considering letting her stay longer? The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He wasn't like this; they weren't thoughts he ever considered before.

The door opened, catching his attention and tearing his thoughts away from the mounting frustration. Lesaro stood in the doorway, a hesitant look playing on his face. Salazar raised a brow in a silent question and the men stepped further inside, closing the door behind him. The lieutenant cleared his throat. "Is everything alright, Capitán?" he asked. Salazar paused before chuckling some. Of course the crew would elect Lesaro to ask the question they were probably too scared to ask, but needed an answer to.

"Si," he responded. Lesaro's shoulders dropped some, his rigid stance seeming to relax a bit. He knew better than to press the matter, but Armando knew he wanted to know what happened. It wasn't like Salazar to be anything less than well put together and collected of mind. "Just helping to take care of the woman," he added, being careful to not use Fortune's name. He couldn't allow himself to get that familiar.

"Ah," Lesaro smiled some. "I'm sure you'll be glad to have her off soon." Salazar eyed the other man; he was his Lieutenant for a reason. Of anyone on the ship, Lesaro was one of the only men that got to see a more relaxed side of Salazar, to know things about his personal life that no one on the ship really needed to know.

"Do you think she could be useful?" he asked. Lesaro straightened, one of his brows raising as he studied the captain. Salazar wasn't surprised in the slightest by the man's shock. He almost didn't believe it himself. The woman had barely been with them and yet he felt like making her leave would be a loss.

"In what way, sir?" the Lieutenant questioned, each word dragged out of his mouth in a slow, weighted manner. That was the question, even Salazar knew it. He doubted she had medical experience, definitely no experience with ships—save for what her brother-in-law had told her—and no combat experience. By all accounts, she would only be in the way, and yet he wanted to hope that she could prove him wrong.

He finally rolled his shoulders into a shrug and shook his head before waving Lesaro off. The other man grinned some, being just bold enough to say, "You know, Capitán, it's not abnormal for captains to have their mistresses aboard."

Salazar shot him a look that warned of it all; the comment was drawing a fine line. But Lesaro was already on his way out by the time the comment finished, leaving Salazar alone in the captain's cabin with his thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

This was it.

Fortune stood above deck as the sight of land came into view on the distant horizon. She knew almost instinctively that something wasn't right when she heard the dull thud like a throbbing headache. The horizon itself seemed to glow unnaturally in the light of day, even with the sun on its trail to set in the west. Her suspicions grew even more when Captain Salazar began shouting for his men to prepare for battle.

Her heart skipped a beat and seemed to sink lower in her chest. Memories flashed through her mind of her sister's wedding. The cannon fire created such chaos and the awful screaming from the pirates only added to the terror. Fortune could picture the innocents in the port city crying out for help, not sure where to run or who was truly an ally, because the uniforms all seemed to blend in with everything else going on. Her stomach clenched, her fingers curled in toward her palms, and the muscles on her arms tightened as the memories turned to anger.

She glanced up at the Captain as he stood near the wheel; now was going to e her chance to prove herself. She looked forward again, noticing two ships at the harbor, both firing inland at the town. The screams filled the night air as they approached, Salazar and his crew fitting the Silent Mary between the two ships to fire at both simultaneously. Fortune found her heart beginning to race the closer they got, fear and doubt finally beginning to creep their ugly heads into her mind.

It wasn't long before they were right where they needed to be.

The ship rocked heavily to the starboard side. Fortune half hopped and half stumbled as the ground beneath her tilted. "Time to get your sea legs!" The surgeon called out. He moved closer to her. "Going to shift to the other side in a second," he added. She clung to the railing, her eyes wide with anticipation and fear and anger all at once. The surgeon didn't blink as the ship rocked back to the other side with a deafening roar. Unphased, he held out the butt of a pistol. Fortune studied it before looking to him.

"There's one shot; use it wisely," he said. Her hand grasped the grip. It fell heavily into her hand as the surgeon released it. She wasn't sure she could even hit someone if she tried to use it, but she couldn't reload and had no powder even if she could. Hopefully, her life wouldn't depend on the gun. She looked back up at the man in front of her. His gaze looked beyond the ship, to the pirate vessel making its way toward them. "Keep yourself safe. Help any man you can."

Fortune swallowed hard and nodded. The surgeon moved from her toward the other end of the ship. The sounds of battled swirled around her; shouts from Salazar, shouts from the men. None of which she could understand, though she couldn't tell if that was from the language barrier or if there was too much going on. She looked down at her leg, knowing it would make things difficult, but she had a deal to uphold with the man at the wheel.

The ship rocked again, water splashing as it did so.

She could feel her breathing pick up as the enemy ship exposed her side. The Silent Mary fired her cannons at the same time as the enemy, causing both ships to lurch away from each other. The cries of sailors greeted her ears and she knew it was time, time to let go of the railing and make her way across the deck.

She tried, on shaking legs, to make her way across the deck, but the battle progressed faster than she could. Before she knew it, the pirates that stayed away from the land boarded the Silent Mary and the deck became a blur of battle. Swords clashed, guns fired, men cried out. And Fortune found herself frozen, unsure of how to proceed. It seemed to be all around her. Men fell to the deck before she could tell who was who, despite the difference in uniforms. From rags and soiled garments to the finer uniforms of Salazar's men. Everything just seemed to blur together.

One thing stood out just a second too late: a man with his sword out rushing toward her. She made to dodge the blow but her leg gave out, sending her crashing to the wooden deck. The sword grazed her arm, cutting into the fabric of her shirt, borrowed from one of the men, and slicing into her skin. The pistol she had been given clattered to the deck, sliding away as the ship lurched. It slammed into the main mast, nestling nicely against the wood, but too far from reach.

Fortune looked up just as the man swung his sword. She rolled out of the way and managed to grab his wrist. Their eyes met. His dark, crazed eyes seem to glitter after just seconds. "Shouldn't you be hiding below, lassy?" He asked. The words didn't register at first, until she realized they weren't in the Spanish she expected. The thought of pirates from other countries crossing the sea to attack foreign lands never crossed her mind before.

"A good officer never cowers," she retorted. The man's brows rose before he laughed, pulling his wrist from her grip.

"Those sound like fighting words," he responded. Fortune swallowed, her gaze flickering back to the gun against the mast. Her only means of real defense. The man readied his sword again and the ship lurched. He shifted only slightly, but enough for her to move away from the swing and grab the pistol before it slid to the railing and into the sea below. She twisted, holding the gun in both shaky hands. The man paused and then chuckled, clearly aware that she had no real idea how to use the gun. He readied his sword as she fingered the trigger, trying to keep her shaking from freezing the muscles she needed.

Silver and red pierced the pirate's chest. The man froze, a gurgle filling his mouth before he twisted to the side and fell to the deck. Salazar stood over Fortune, his hair slightly falling from the neat ponytail he always tied it into. She studied his stern expression, a knot of shame building in her stomach. He had to save her, when he needed to be focusing on other things. She pushed herself to her feet as he turned to face another pirate.

She looked away, not searching for anything in particular. Perhaps the pirate was right, perhaps she needed to go below decks and let the men fight. Her own personal convictions and reasons didn't mean anything if she was merely going to get in the way. Almost as soon as the thoughts crossed her mind, a man in a Naval uniform came into her view. One of his legs ended in a bloody stump, with a line of blood following as he clawed his way across the deck.

All thoughts pushed from her mind, scolding her for wanting to give into fear. There was no one at the wedding, no one to save anyone from their bloody fate. Without another thought, she made her way toward the man, losing her footing only twice. Once at his side, she fell to her knees, studying the leg. His whole side had cuts and splinters from the ship's own damage. Her mind focused on the leg, the biggest source of blood loss. "Ayudame, por favor," [help me, please] he said.

"Take off your jacket," she ordered. She couldn't understand his words, but she could see the pain in his expression, the fear. It reached into her heart and shook her to her core; she'd heard of the tales of war but she'd never seen it firsthand, never thought she would find herself in the situation where men would die in front of her eyes or where she could make the difference between life or death. It felt strange, terrifying. But she knew she had to push them aside.

The man shrugged off his jacket, the pain causing him to shake and breathe heavily. He rested against the deck after she took the piece of clothing, his eyes closing. "No, no!" She shouted before pausing. The man opened his eyes and rolled his head to look at her. "Don't close your eyes," she said. The man studied her before looking toward the sky.

The ship rocked. She set the gun at under her knee, making sure to point it away from the man she was helping in fear of accidentally setting the thing off. It didn't take her nearly as long as she expected to wrap the jacket around his leg, trying hard to tie the sleeves tight enough to cut off the circulation. She remembered a story one of her brother-in-law's friends told, about how the surgeon would tie things so tight that would bleed less. The man talked about that surgeon regularly, regarding him in high esteem, so she figured she might as well try the same thing.

The man's eyes slid closed as she worked on him, his chest barely moved up and down. She tried to push the thoughts of the possible inevitable out of her mind, hoping this clash would end soon. "Sir," she said, shaking him some. "Sir, wake up." She wanted him out of the way, somewhere that a pirate might not stumble upon. She shook him again before his eyes barely opened. "I need your help to get you somewhere safe," she stated, knowing she wouldn't be strong enough to move him herself.

The man tried to push himself up but fell back to the deck. She slid closer, losing her hold on the gun, and wrapped her arms under his arms. "Push with your leg," she ordered. She pushed with her own good leg and together, inch-by-inch, they made it to a corner where he could be safe. "Stay awake," she said before moving away from him. She managed to grab the pistol from the deck and realized the ship no longer rocked so violently from side-to-side.

She glanced around the area, noticing the destroyed pirate vessel sinking into the water. The second vessel turned, sailing into the horizon. Salazar continued shouting commands as his men lined up against the railing, rifles at the ready. She limped her way to the line and squeezed her way in, determined to use the pistol. It was given to her for a reason, and it didn't sit right with her if she didn't do _something_ against the pirates. Salazar shouted out another order and the fire of rifles rang in her ears before she managed to pull the trigger on the pistol. She had no idea if the bullet hit anyone, but she it was part of life on the ship, and she needed to embrace that.

She turned from the line, ignoring the other volley of orders as they made their way closer to the shore. The sight of buildings on fire and people still scrambling about the streets went unnoticed by Fortune as she focused on the scene around her. Water mixed with blood in places on the deck and the sound of injured groans still filled the air. There was still much ahead of her...


End file.
